“La UPR no se vende, se defiende”: The Battle for the University of Puerto Rico

This article discusses how Puerto Rico’s financial crisis is threatening its public university: 90% of its funding depends on the central government and the Fiscal Oversight Board suggests reducing the university’s budget by half. Even though the university proposed a plan that phases in more modest cuts, this plan was rejected by the Board. Both the University’s administration and the students agree that the cuts are too severe. The latter had been enduring a two month strike to protest these proposals, however, the article points out that there are groups of students that are fighting for the university to reopen.

On April 5 students of the University of Puerto gathered at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum where they discussed strategies and solutions to the austerity measures that the Fiscal Control Board plans to impose, primarily, the reduction of one-third of the University’s budget. This article discusses the demands upon which the students decided during this gathering, such as the need of a university reform that would represent all sectors from the university community, and zero budget cuts to the University of Puerto Rico. Yet, the students’ claims are not limited to the University, they also prioritize the need for an audit and a moratorium of the debt.

In this opinion piece, the author discusses how the students’ vote in favor of the strike has been criticized by society. In particular, he focuses on “well-intentioned” arguments. The first consists of the critique that one should not strike if the patron, the university, does not have enough resources to meet the students’ demands. The second, related to the first, is the idea that to close the university (through a strike) actually fulfills the desire of the government and the Fiscal Control Board and will lead to the permanent closing of the University. The author demonstrates that these critiques may seem sensible, but are, in fact, incorrect.

This article elucidates the reality or falsity of a series of “myths” about the University of Puerto Rico and its relation to the debt crisis. For example, the author explains that the budget of health services will not be directly affected if there are no cuts to the University of Puerto Rico’s budget. Instead, as it should be according to the fiscal plan, the majority of the budget cuts could be applied to the private sector. Other concerns that the article discusses are related to how the UPR is spending its money and whether the strikes have economic consequences.

On April 18th 2017, many, including the group Citizen Front for Auditing the Debt, gathered in front of Puerto Rico’s capitol building to protest against the passage of a bill that would eliminate the government funded Debt Audit Commission. Among the many concerns of these protestors is the fact that a large portion of the debt is illegal because it involved either “extra-constitutional” debt-saddled with predatory interest rates or “toxic” interest-rate swaps. The Citizen Front hopes to initiate a “citizen’s participatory audit.” The article provides general information about the debt crisis and the University of Puerto Rico, and compares this student strike with the one in 2010, explaining that this one connects the threat to the University to the general issue of austerity measures imposed by the Fiscal Control Board.

Analyzing the University of Puerto Rico’s student-led stoppage, one can see that the student movement did not limit its goals and interests to the crisis of public education, but, instead, made the university the locus where broader political struggles against neoliberal austerity and national debt-servitude can take place. For instance, the strike’s resolution states not only that it is in opposition to the budget cuts to the university, but also demands that the debt be audited and a moratorium on debt payments be declared. This in-depth article connects the student’s conscious insertion into the wide political field of struggle to the Island’s long history of student activism.

In the aftermath of the student strike, this article reflects on the new struggles the University of Puerto Rico faces. For instance, the interim president and the dean resigned and the university may not continue to function with the impending budget cuts. As the author explains, whether the results of the strike were positive or negative is a question of perspective: some see it as a waste of time, other consider it a fruitful time of reflection. This article includes a video that recounts the processes and circumstances of the strike.

The decision to end the University of Puerto Rico’s strike was made during a student assembly that was attended by 2,119 students from the Río Piedras campus. This decision was made after the Governor decided to add $202 million dollars to previous cuts from the University’s budget in the next fiscal year. This article discusses the negotiations and compromises that the student body undertook in order to try to achieve their demands which included zero tuition hikes and an audit of the public debt.

the fact that they were only granted four seats by la Junta, UPR student leaders met with the board to question the magnitude of the cut to the budget of UPR. The students seek to mitigate the damage set forth by the budget cuts, access data that the board uses to develop new proposals, and that meetings between students and the board continue. The students also questioned the increase in the costs of tuition for undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students

article analyses the increase in student loans in Puerto Rico due to the increase in tuition and the cost of living. Fiscal year 2017 saw the highest amount of student loans in a decade, with loans registered with Sallie Mae totalling $478.5 million. This, coupled with la Junta’s plan to increase tuition costs, will only result in the volume of student loan increasing exponentially as more students rely on the assistance to attend school. The stress of paying off student loans is only exacerbated by the shaky job market and the potential of defaulting on your loans

article discusses the gutting of UPR by la Junta and what that means to the students and staff. Huyke highlights the freezing of teaching positions as they become vacant and the hiring of temporary staff to cover the needs. The gutting has resulted in higher cost of education, fewer educators available to teach, and both students and teachers who look for employment outside of the university to make ends meet. The author commends the students who are learning in a new environment that is unlike his, where the classwork and costs are greater, while the prospects of a job after college are lower

This article outlines the changes and implications set forth by the new budget plan created by la Junta in regards to UPR. The university will see the consolidation of many offices and the cutting of temporary staff. This change does not take into account how the quality of the education will change. Teachers that remain will see an increase in workload, leaving little time for research and professional development. In total, 72 undergraduate programs will be discontinued as a result of the new plan. The results of this new plan will be detrimental to not only the students attending the university, but the employees of the university, and the community that it serves